Rugged days

The past two days have been rugged at school. Everything looks fine from the outside, but there are two big time issues I'm wrassling with.

My third graders' blogs are not working properly. I'm spending hours looking over them, figuring stuff out - when I don't really even have minutes. The kids really want to blog. Yesterday we talked about next year, when they won't be with me, when they won't have their beloved blogs. and so on. There were tears as I explained how I would phase them out. Lots of good questions. They were grasping at straws, trying to wrap their heads around how the blogs could still exist, live on, somehow remain. This phenomenal response is unlike anything I have seen in 25 years of teaching. And right now the blogs are not working. Three weeks to go in the school year, and there is this just incredible knot of emotion. Aargh.

The other is the literacy (specifically writing) program at my school. It is a very long story, which I will maybe share here later. Anyway, plans are being made for next year. And I am a lone voice suggesting anything other than the mandated all school paper/pencil, Mead writing notebook approach to writing that we had this year. My feelings are so strong on this, it is very difficult to even begin a conversation about it with my colleagues. My blood pressure shoots up, and there is this chasm of misunderstanding so wide that it seems impossible to even begin to address - never mind explain sensibly. And a rant will go nowhere here. So I'm trying to figure out what to do about it. I will probably write. Unfortunately, I have so much to say, there is so little time or energy to do a good job of expressing myself, and nobody will have the time to actually read and digest what I have to say, with all the end of the year craziness. One thing I do know. I cannot go through another year as I have this past year - way too many sleepless nights spent with this puppy. Better stop for now. I can feel the blood pressure rising.

New Literacy?

New Literacy?,
originally uploaded by mahlness.

Now the inclusion of the American flag is coincidence, so don't jump to any conclusions that this is a political statement. This was on a classroom door just down the hall from my classroom. I love my school and all my colleagues (this is a very good teacher), but this cutesy depiction of "how we write" could have been produced 70 or 80 years ago. We really do have a long way to go. Sometimes I forget how far.

Just to be clear about this: The writing process has changed. It is NOT encapsulated in a pencil any more. Web 2.0 technologies (and earlier) have indeed changed not only the container, but also the process.

I'm not sure what the most forward thinking graphic might be right now. I'll work on it. Any ideas?

MySpace and DOPA - great interview

Thanks to a nice comment from Jeff Cooper yesterday, I checked out the latest on MySpace from Danah Boyd - this time with Henry Jenkins from MIT:

Discussion: MySpace and Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA)

This interview will be a real eye-opener for many, I hope, into what the controversy over MySpace is really all about. In my simple words, it's about kids, kids wanting to socialize, parents worrying about them, parents trying to control them. Nothing new here. Nothing except the arena. That's what is so terrifying to parents, fed incessantly by our mass media machine.

I hope this interview gets even wider airplay than Danah's earlier, but also very good: Friendster lost steam. Is MySpace just a fad?

She did end up doing a great job on the O'Reilly Factor, but if the message is going to get out there and really influence public opion (and therefore create a change), she's gotta land on Oprah. Here's hoping.

The Rant

This past week the wwwedu discussion list has been hopping with some fightin' words. Moderator Andy Carvin just posted a great summary of the discussion, with quotes from a few contributors, including me, on the new learning.now blog he is writing for pbs.

Contributing to a list is hard work for me, compared to brogwriting. I feel like I have to choose words so carefully.... So, rather than add to the wwwedu discussion, I just added the following comment (also easier to write) to Andy's post:

Yes Andy, that was one good rant and discussion. I hope readers remember that the feelings behind Jeff’s rant continue there still - and are shared by many, myself included. Just speaking the problem does not solve it, make it go away, or lessen the feeling that produced it.

And yet I wonder what those just tuning in on this discussion think about all this? Are those ranters really a bunch of loose cannons, spurred on by some wild hair of a crazy idea? I think it would be pretty easy to think that, if you’ve not been involved in the discussion. Don’t schools have computers? Aren’t they connected to the Internet? What’s the problem then, for goodness sake? Just settle down and keep the kids safe.

So I do worry about that. I think those of us waving our arms around so wildly at times at this or that windmill need to remember the most powerful change agent in the US - public opinion. I hope we are not shooting our cause in the foot, adding, in our passion, to the fear that may “overtake the Internet’s potential…”

Thanks for the thoughtful and kind remarks Andy. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. - Mark

21st Century Coffeehouse

I'm sitting on the floor in a packed coffeehouse in Seattle. No, it's not Starbucks - it's Tully's. Our school has had "readers' night out" here five times this year - kids bring their latest writings and read for an audience - PA system and all - the whoosh of the latte machine adds to the ambiance.

I was so proud of three of my third graders, who came down and read from their blogs off this laptop. All the other kids had their floppy pieces of paper, their little "books", etc. My kids just came with courage - and I would say some confidence - that the experience of writing for a global audience has brought them this year. They read a Mother's Day story, a fantasy turkey escape story from Thanksgiving, and a journal kept during the week of our high stakes testing on the WASL.

This is so far from the coffeehouses I remember in the 60's. My kids tonight were part of a very new generation, the one embracing totally different ways of reading, writing, and communicating.

Ease off the teachers

So much has been written about how teachers just don't give a care about integrating technology, web 2.0 modules, into their classrooms. I'm tired of the blame being put on teachers. Put it squarely where it belongs - on the administrators and legislators who are motivated out of ignorant myspace.com fear.

How can we teachers begin to integrate curriculum using 2.0 technologies when those tools used to implement that technology are prohibited, blocked, and outlawed from access in our schools? A short list of prohibitions in most school districts in the US:

• all blogger.com domains
• flickr.com
• any rss feed from blogger or flickr, even if specific users are cleared
• del.icio.us
• note that many sources drawing from the above also come up short and do not work properly, for instance:
  - bloglines
  - netvibes
  - suprglu
• rate limiting or total blocking of multimedia files: mp3, realaudio, quicktime, etc, etc. Listen to a podcast over 500K? Forget it.

If you are a web 2.0 proponent, how would you do without access to all/any of the above in your work? I say ease off on teachers. Those who don't understand why we are not embracing The New Story with open arms need a little dose of reality. Spend some time in a classroom, a school, talking with a teacher, checking out the tools we have at our disposal. Then tell me it's our fault.

Time to look and place blame elsewhere.

Netvibes, reading, teaching

I first heard about Netvibes from Jeff Utecht - via a very nice staff presentation on rss he posted. Looked very cool. But I thought, one more thing to track? - I don't think so. But I read more, encountered more mentions, most recently David Warlick. So I set mine up. And it is so cool, so sweet - at least on a high speed connection, fast computer from home. We'll see how fast it is and what gets through tomorrow at school. What really excites me is the potential for the regular classroom teacher, the non-techie, to get into web 2.0 with this. Adding feeds is an absolute no-brainer: just paste the blog address in the add feed line, and "autodiscovery" takes care of the rest. The drag/drop, graphical interface is so much more inviting than the dry Bloglines display. I really think the classroom teacher can grab onto this one, at least I hope so.

Time for only a little reading this past week, but a few that I remembered and will go back to:

• Our Classrooms are Flat - from David Warlick. I just love where he is going with this.
• Can Computers Help Schools? - from Brian Crosby. Well put, one of many responses to Jay Matthews skewed view.
• Bonnie Bracey's response was great, as well.

That list was way too short, not at all reflective of my interest - only reflective of the lack of time I currently have to pursue reading to learn. It's a busy time in the classroom...

What really matters

We take so for granted that technology now puts us in touch effortlessly with people around the world, instantly. It's when ideas spread and behaviors change because of that technology, because of that new way of communicating, that I get excited. I just posted this to the The Earth Day Groceries Project blog:

Welcome to Sri Lanka
Every once in a while, a report comes in that makes me sit back, take a deep breath, and shake my head in disbelief. Halfway around the world from where the vast majority of Earth Day Grocery Bags are decorated and distributed, a small community in Sri Lanka joined in. It's worth a read:

Report from Sri Lanka

Happy Earth Day, every day, everywhere!

Speaking with authority and credibility - revisited

Ever write something so awful that it's painful to even go back and look at it? Never mind read through it carefully. I wrote Speaking with authority and credibility nearly two weeks ago. I was smack dab in the middle of running the Earth Day Groceries Project, preparing my third graders for the WASL, and I had gotten way too involved in the discussion over George. I was exhausted, stressed, and frustrated. So I really let it fly.

There were people outside of the classroom saying things I did not agree with. Telling me what the problems were. I believed their suggestions for and criticisms of teachers were not based on the reality that I knew. I'd been doing this, pushing the tech envelope in the classroom, for a long time. I believed I knew what I was doing and had the right to say so.

I read through my post again this morning - yikes, words like "pontificating" and "spew forth" are certain to bring about angry and defensive reactions from even the most level headed and confident folks. Interesting responses to the post in several places.

Do I still feel the same? Sure.
Would I say it differently now? Sure.
Do I need to explain or add anything? Yes, I would add this...
It's about what those who are not classroom teachers have to offer - or at least what I find useful and helpful.

1. technical knowledge, the "how to" stuff. This is a short item, but very important. So many great ideas out there, and no lack of generosity in sharing them!
2. encouragement. This is huge to me. I have many to thank for this, and most are not in the classroom. Teachers doing what I do are very much on our own, not just in our schools, but in our school districts. You really have nobody to bounce ideas off of, get excited about new things with, etc. When I first started blogging on my own, and then with my kids, I assumed I was one of many doing that - hundreds, probably thousands, I thought. Not so. There is ONE other teacher blogging with her students in Seattle, just down the hall from my classroom. I try and encourage her...

So, many thanks to Wesley, David, Will, Gordon, and Miguel. (oops - one is a classroom teacher!)

I've learned a fair bit about myself in this - the rant, and the fallout. First, I need to carefully regulate how far I let myself get involved in trying to "fix" the systemic stuff. Blogland is a funny place, in that it's real easy to overestimate your influence and your ability to change things. I absolutely loved Doug Noon's post this week, Commit to Being a Flea - and the resulting conversation in the comments. This feels like a comfortable suit for me to put on for a while. But I will be "Mighty Flea" - or something :) Imagine an army of us.

Second, I've been reminded how fragile personal feelings are, how words said in the heat of the moment may linger for a long time, may become twisted, taken personally, misunderstood, and used for other purposes besides the original intent. I worried about losing friendships.

Third, I've learned that I just can't stop listening to good writing - I just love it. So, on this little blog, I've featured direct rss feeds to a few classroom teachers who are wonderful bloggers, but I have also added a blogroll that includes just plain good writers and thinkers on ed/tech stuff.

Fourth, I've discovered the peace that comes with hanging with your own kind. Don't take this the wrong way. I don't know how to express it exactly, it's kind of a "herd" mentality thing, I guess. There is a good feeling that comes from being surrounded - physically at times - by those just like yourself. I've never been much of a group follower - and education certainly does not cultivate this value amongst teachers - so it is comforting, in a way, to be in the company of classroom teachers who blog on their own and with their kids. It's a small herd (fleas, mostly), but at least I've located it.

Last, I've remembered what it's like to stick your neck out for something you believe in. It has been a while.

A day in the life

It is May, and I am so tired. I am very aware of how dangerous it is to put your mouth out there when you are not at your sharpest. But sometimes there is no choice. My post on Speaking with authority and credibility brought a lot of anger my way, not surprising. It also led to misunderstanding, once again not surprising. Some things that have got me through today:

• my kids' postings on testing (and incredible responses from kids/teachers all over): It's over, but the writing continues!
• Doug Noon's writing - yikes, he's the tellraven guy! I have got to find time to comment!
• getting a few blogspot.com domains cleared through the Seattle School District filter this morning. I will keep adding to the list, now that I know it's possible.
• recording/editing the news reporters for the April podcast of the Jr Seahawk Newsletter at school today - two hours into it, and two more to go, for a precious 5 minutes...
• Miguel Guhlin's writing, today and every day, it seems, lately...
• the hundreds of inspirational reports that I have read through carefully today and the past week, carefully editing before posting on The Earth Day Groceries Project
• the hundreds of pictures I've posted on dozens of new web pages from schools around the world for the same project
• a very nice email I got this morning from a teacher/doc student in NY, who put me together as the earth day guy who wrote a chapter in this book. Although proud of my contribution there, it is so very dated... Still, it does not take much to lift tender spirits right now.

So many things I want to write about. So little time. I have to, even more, seek out those classroom teachers doing web 2.0 stuff with their kids. They know what's happening, they will have more to offer me, and vice versa. It's 10:15 PM, got to correct papers, plan for tomorrow, and edit student blogs just sent in from home.

Effective teaching - what's that?

Doug Noon just posted a wonderful article, Effective Teaching, in which he writes about what makes a teacher a great teacher. Very much worth a few minutes to read. Unfortunately, what I see happening is the question of what makes a great or effective teacher is totally left out of the equation when schools decide how to improve.

The first thing districts look at will be test scores, comparing this district with that one. Then will come different approaches to instruction (whole language vs, literacy based, etc). Then will be evaluations of PROGRAMS or CURRICULA that promise to meet the needs identified by the schools to improve TEST SCORES.

Then folks come up with a little equation for how to get the job done. It is based on the idea that all you need is the perfect curriculum, taught in exactly this or that particular way - and you'll have incredible schools!!

Is there anywhere in this equation a piece about the fact that the secret to effective schools is - effective and expert teachers? Once school districts start their planning around the ideas Doug is talking about, education in the 21st century may have a chance. A little more cultivation of the motivated, expert, and committed teacher will grow a lot healthier schools.

The WASL

I teach third grade in Seattle, Washington. The high stakes test in our neck of the woods is called the WASL (wah' sel). I'll leave the description of it up to my kids. They wrote a little bit about it each day - and then posted their thoughts for the week today, after we finished.

I am just amazed at their ability in this medium. Remember, these are 8 and 9 year olds, reflecting on an extremely difficult test - over time - and then putting it together in one posting. What comes across so strongly to me is their sense of voice. They write with purpose, questionning, sense of humor, and much more. I am so proud of them. They will do well in this world.

Fifteen of my 22 kids published today at our classroom blog, roomtwelve.com Here are a few entries that just blew me away:

• Joey
• August
• Logan
• Danielle
• Jose
• Alice
• Jackson
• Ming

Could they have written this stuff and in this way before before we got into blogging? Probably.

Would I have assigned it? No way.

Is this type of writing important, and will they benefit from it? Duh.

Technology is changing not only the WAY we teach but WHAT we teach.

New direction

After last night's rant, the machine is still in motion. There is no turning back, it's definitely time to change direction. I will write more on this later. I just changed the rss feeds on the right side of this blog. Welcome to the up-to-the-minute thoughts from Doug Noon and Bud Hunt! More to follow soon.

Speaking with authority and credibility

I will not make many friends with this post. If I distance myself from those I admire and respect because I think they're off base and out of touch on this, well, that's the way it must be. It's just one of those things I must say, I believe it that strongly.

I have truly had it with the pontificating from various corners and from various levels about what the problem is with technology in the classroom.

If anyone wants to speak with authority and credibility on technology use in the classroom - and wants to be listened to by teachers, they must be involved in the classroom - now. It is changing so fast, life in the classroom of the 21st century. And technology within the classroom is changing faster than anything else in that classroom. If someone has not taught in a classroom within the last year, they have no idea what is going on there with technology right now. I'm talking everybody from college professors to computer lab teachers to keynote speakers at tech conferences. I cannot listen to them any longer. They do not know what is going on. They do not have anything to offer me.

So what should people do if they want to speak with authority and credibility about technology use - but they are not willing to be a classroom teacher? Well, my first response would be to tell them that they just can't. But if they REALLY want to get it, I would tell them they need to get themselves into a classroom, once a week, at the very least. Talk with a classroom teacher, F2F, once a week, at the very least. This will give them maybe a chance of understanding a little. Walk a mile in my Rockports...

Now, folks can continue to spew forth their technology-in-the-classroom ideas based on what they think are good ideas generally, or what they remember from who knows how many years ago when they were in the classroom. Being a computer lab teacher does not count, nor does being an "integration specialist". Many will be listened to by administrators (like George, maybe) - or not. This means less than nothing to me at this point. (I refer you to Charlotte's Web for Wilbur's delightful interpretation of what "less than nothing" means)

I will listen to and learn from classroom teachers. They live where the rubber meets the road. Time for new rss feeds, links, and all the rest.

Earth Day every day

No "good reading" for the week, been too busy with the Earth Day Groceries Project, approving/editing reports for the databases, and adding picture pages from the emails that are slamming me right now...

Started a "picture of the day" blog on the site. Hope to continue with that for a couple of weeks. Here's the first:

http://www.earthdaybags.org/blog/2006/04/picture-of-day-4-23-06.html

Big Check!

Big Check!,
originally uploaded by mahlness.

On Earth Day, April 22, 2006, I accepted a sponsorship donation to the Earth Day Groceries Project from Albertsons - at their Mercer Island, Washington store. A very nice Earth Day!

This was quite a deal for the fledgling nonprofit organization. I hope more grocery chains will join in. I was told there that 270 schools participated with Albertsons this year, and decorated over 49,000 Earth Day grocery bags - distributed to customers today.

What is really cool here is that store managers went out to schools to get them involved, and not the other way around - which is often a frustrating task for a teacher at a school - going begging to a store for bags, trying to "sell" the idea, etc. A very good sign for the future...

Blogs, lists, and audience

I've been thinking about writing this for some time. The events of the last two weeks have finally brought me to this point.

It's about blocking, censorship, MySpace, administrative vs. teacher leadership in technology - just a huge ball of wax. Will Richardson's post, Battling Censorship was what pushed me to writing here. Here's part of what he said:

...There are at best, what, 50? 100? 500? 1000? educators tuned into this conversation in a sea of hundreds of thousands. How many have posted? ....

Background: Here's Miguel Guhlin, leading the charge against censorship, after having both his blog and that of Wesley Fryer's blocked in some (many?) Texas school districts because they included the word MySpace in their postings. Content filtering of a really surprising magnitude - just incredible. Miguel has spoken out vociferously, is trying to get everybody to put "MySpace" on their blogs and web pages, so that those sitting at the blocker buttons will have no choice but to ease off, because nothing is getting through to schools.

OK. So Miguel's call to arms may seem unrealistic, but here is what he is doing that may indeed make a difference. He is getting his message out to educational discussion lists. I've seen his postings on wwwedu (2,000 members), edtech (3,500 email members), and I assume the digital divide list (3,000 members - Andy Carvin has pushed it out there for sure anyway). I'm sure the thread has spread to other lists by now. Easily, 10,000 people will have read what Miguel has had to say by now. Next, they will discuss it - with exponential numbers just around the corner, if people quote his postings and responses to them . Will R. is wrong when he suggests the numbers hearing this conversation are so small. That's if you only count the choir.

I say connect to the congregation, not just the choir. Miguel is truly taking it there. I wish other bloggers would start to realize the power and potential of the list medium. Just because it's not brand new and glitzy like blogging and rss is no reason to turn backs on the most powerful aggregator there is - the Inbox.

Posting to a list is a different art form from blogging. Man, once you send it, you can't EVER take it back on a list - can't just go into your blog and just delete the post. It's there for good. I find it so much easier to blog like this than to post to a list. It really takes me a long time, relatively, to put together my thoughts for a listserv.

So thanks for doing it, Miguel - taking on the somewhat stodgy establishment of lists, presenting a fresh approach, a new way of looking at things. There are wonderful writers out there posting incredible ideas on blogs right now. I wish their audience was bigger. It could be.

Good reading, 4/16/06

Just got back from the east coast, where I spent my spring vacation helping my folks and my brother move on to their next life chapters. So my reading has been light (also hindered by the slowness of dial-up AOL access - aargh), but I did come across some fascinating stuff, most of which I will have to come back to later to fully digest. I have been using del.icio.us to keep track of these things as I find them. This week's bunch is at readingapril2 - not all referenced below:

• Borderland - from Doug Noon. Very political, a teacher, out there... I will check back regularly. I love this stuff.
• Holistic and Integral Education: Flat Classrooms - from Roger Stack from Tasmania, Australia - need to check back later and read more...
• Moving at the Speed of Creativity » Blog Archive » People are the curriculum - Wesley Fryer. Not as much about technology as just education. A great point of view.
• The Seattle Times: Local News: Seattle ranks as nation's best-educated big city - not a blog, but a piece of info I will use in a future post. The local edtech scene is out of step with the people moving here, for sure...
• How-To Primers - lots of stuff on MySpace...
• How to Access Blocked Websites » Digital Inspiration: Software Reviews, Technology News, Downloads, Productivity Tips - let's see if my blog gets blocked now. Stuff I need to know.
• Groupthink - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Miguel Guhlin's (now deleted) post led me here....
• Moving at the Speed of Creativity » Blog Archive » Podcast52: Stories About Web 2.0 - from Wesley Fryer. Another great podcast, Wesley again mentions Danielle's blog post. I need to fill him in on more background for that story.
• Blackboard Blogging - Washington Post article about teacher bloggers
• Bud the Teacher: Podcast: The Post and Our Buddy George - from Bud Hunt, I want to listen asap.
• http://www.mguhlin.net/blog/archives/2006/04/entry_1363.htm - Miguel Guhlin's podcast. Maybe I'll do something similar - why not?
• (late addition) Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth: Another Murder, Another Blogger: How Will the Media React? - Andy caught on first to the potential impact to the blogging world of this horrific story. The media will be obsessed with this....

This is the third posting of this type I've done. When I started out, this was to be a listing of my weekend reading. Now it appears it will be a listing of my memorable reading during the week.

Texas inspiration

You had to have been asleep at the screen to have missed the Doug/George Johnson episode last week on ed blogs. Lots of passion there.

But that's nothing compared to what I'm reading from Miguel Guhlin and Wesley Fryer. What are they putting in the water down there in Texas, anyway? These two are writing just some inspired stuff right now. How do they do it? Wish I had the way with the word they have. I'll just have to settle for sharing their passion. Some examples:

Censored for relevance (and here)- Fryer
Put Fear Aside - Guhlin
(edited on 4/16/06, as Miguel has just redone his blog, and articles previously listed here are no more)

They also have left provocative thoughts and supportive encouragements in comments all over the place, in many discussions, very much enriching this cool space. Miguel left this for me after a downer post I wrote about MySpace:

Blog in the face of oppression, speak truth to power even though it isn't effective. These acts may not change the environment you're in, but they will change you. And, changing you is all you CAN do. . .it is the most powerful transformation you can model for your children, as well as your students and colleagues.

Thanks, guys!

Good reading, 4/10/06

I've spent more time writing than reading this past week, it seems. Still, I found some good reads:

• Learning Is Messy - Blog - from Brian Crosby, 6th grade teacher in Nevada
• Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog - Blue Skunk Blog - Becoming George - I spent WAY too much time here - and on following posts and comments. Stimulating, frustrating discussions ignited by Doug
• The Thinking Stick from Jeff Utecht, over in Shanghai, China. Jeff is really out there on a different plane from most - in a very good way. Think I'll add an rss feed to his blog from this page...
• Tech learning blog - not sure if the articles written here are merely repeats from their own blogs - will check this out more later

Sadly, that's it for the week/weekend. I'm headed back to the east coast for a few days on family stuff, but the flights (5 airports in 5 days - aaargh) will go more quickly, as my mp3 player is loaded up with podcats from Miguel Guhlin, Andy Carvin, Tim Wilson, Wesley Fryer, Bob Sprankle (and his kids), and David Warlick. And just in case any of that gets boring (ha), I have Will Richardson's new book. The hours will fly by...

Finally, I set up a myspace account a couple of weeks ago, to see what it was like, learn about the dangers, potential, etc, etc. I finally started up my blog there - and I noticed a coupla guys from the above list are also there :) I think all teachers ought to do the same. Have to understand the nature of the beast...